Nearly 10 houses per week were repossessed last year, according to the latest figures on mortgagee sales.
A report by Terralink International shows there were 2265 mortgagee sales last year.
Some 22%, or about 500 properties, were houses. The remainder were business premises and other investments.
Waikato and Wellington regions experienced the biggest rise in mortgagee sales, along with Marlborough, Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay and the West Coast.
Last year's number is still below the record of 3024 mortgagee sales three years ago and lower still than 2010's high of 2434.
However, Terralink's report shows numbers began to increase in the second half of last year and have remained high ever since.
Preliminary figures for the start of this year show sales are significantly higher than the same time last year.
